Label: Tone Rogue Records, 2020

Personnel - Dayna Stephens: tenor and soprano saxophones, EWI; Julian Shore: piano, synth; Edward Perez: bass; Colin Stranahan: drums + Ben Monder: guitar; Caroline Davis: alto saxophone; Oded Tzur: tenor saxophone.

American pianist and composer Julian Shore is in good company on his fourth album as a leader, Where We Started. The album is composed of eight pieces - five originals and three covers - that share a singular personality in spite of their various tempos and moods. Teaming up with bassist Edward Perez and drummer Colin Stranahan in the rhythm section, Shore assigns the first row of his core quartet to saxophonist Dayna Stephens. However, to make his music thrive, he also counts on priceless appearances from guitarist Ben Monder and saxophonists Caroline Davis and Oded Tzur on selected tracks.

“I Preludio” emerges with sheer classical elegance on the introductory solo piano passage, which opens up the door to a gradual integration of atmospheric arco bass, nearly indiscernible EWI and textured guitar. By the time that Davis blows the alto and Stranahan adds a soft percussion layer, the group prepares its departure from the classical and lands on jazz ground. This opening number, inspired by the Hungarian guitarist Zsófia Boros, has another solo piano passage that makes the transition to the following piece, “II Winds, Currents”. The latter, featuring solos from Stephens and Shore, is a charming 3/4 post-bop ride arranged with aural immediacy. A vamp pops up at the final stage, inviting the drummer to increase the percussive impact of his actions.

“III Tunnels, Speed” is buoyed by the sinuous, distorted sounds of Monder’s guitar. Regardless the speed of his fingers and dirty sound, his ideas remain clear, objective and infused with a forward-thinking bent. He also contributes temperate chiaroscuro sketches to Carlo Gesualdo’s “O Vos Omnes”, an emotionally-charged 16th-century madrigal drowned in atmospheric magnetism.

The delicately brushed “IV Marshes, Amphibians” keeps waltzing with decorum. Still and all, its crepuscular tones are only lifted by Stephens’ tenor solo.

If “Nemesis”, a composition by Shore’s former teacher Hal Crook, is given an odd futuristic touch due to the forceful presence of the EWI at the fore, then Gershwin’s “Oh Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess”, a languorous ballad, and the title track, which relies on harmonic suspensions and mysterious atmospheres, point in a more introspective direction. None of them impress as the first four tracks did.

I was unable to connect with all the material here. The guests bring some spark to the music, but don’t really take it to newfound places. With that said, there’s a number of well crafted sections where things work well.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - II Winds, Currents ► 03 - III Tunnels, Speed ► 04 - O Vos Omnes